The present invention is related in general to rotary direct current (DC) electrical generators which incorporate permanent magnet fields, and in particular to similar electromechanical generating devices whose principal purpose is to produce a useful continuous high-voltage DC corona discharge. This invention also pertains to the field of aerospace vehicles which are capable of propulsion through the utilization of an ultra-high-voltage corona or arc discharge of a special type and form.
In order to provide background information so that the present invention may be completely understood and appreciated in its proper context, reference is made hereinbelow to a number of related art patents. These cited references contain certain similarities to the present invention, primarily related to the objective of producing electrically-developed thrust. However, key differences and limitations with regard to achieving this objective are in evidence.
The related art disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,949,550 proposes three attendant objects which are quite similar to certain of the objects of the present invention: (i) to provide an apparatus for the direct conversion of electrical potential to usable kinetic energy; (ii) to provide such an apparatus having a hollow body or housing which contains a source of high electrical potential; and (iii) to provide a self-propelling vehicular apparatus which includes a pair of electrically conductive body portions joined by an insulative portion, whereby said conductive portions constitute electrodes. A further similarity is that the vehicular embodiment proposed preferably be of a circular disc shape somewhat thicker in its center than at its edges. The device set forth in this Patent just cited is noticeably different from the present invention, however, in that a positive voltage is applied to the housing periphery and a negative voltage is applied at the central axis. The proposed arrangement is furthermore limited to operation within a gaseous dielectric medium, upon which it is reliant for the production of the claimed motive force, and is to be operated at a potential gradient less than that which would produce a visible corona. This device moreover makes no provisions for the production and/or extraction of vast quantities of useful thermal kinetic energy, as the present invention does.
The related art disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,071,705 is based on three empirical principles of electrostatics which also figure prominently in explaining the actual shape of the discharge current field that will be produced by the present invention: (i) electrostatic lines of force tend to concentrate on the surface of a charged conductor in those places with the smallest radius of curvature; (ii) they are normal to the surface from which they emanate; and (iii) they do not cross but will bend under the influence of another charged body. The device set forth in this Patent just cited is in fact quite similar to that of the Patent cited immediately before, in that relatively massive positive atmospheric ions and entrained neutral air molecules are repelled from the positive electrode toward the negative electrode along a linear axisxe2x80x94thereby inducing an air flow or xe2x80x9celectric windxe2x80x9d which represents the fundamental source of thrust. It is therefore once again limited to operation in a gaseous dielectric medium, and does not make use of a flow of negative and greatly less massive electron current in the course of thrust productionxe2x80x94which may achieve comparatively enormous acceleration and even relativistic velocity and specific impulse at a similar given level of applied potential gradientxe2x80x94as the present invention does.
The related art disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,177,654 actually addresses the issue of producing electrically-developed thrust which is not limited to atmospheric operation, and the stated primary object thereof is to provide a propulsion system for enabling controlled flight in the atmosphere which may continue extensively into space without changing the system""s basic operation. One embodiment thereof also proposes a circular disc-shaped vessel wherein high-voltage electrode elements ionize atmospheric gases by corona discharge, and a pulsed electromagnet arrangement causes the ejection of the resultant plasma from the propulsion chamberxe2x80x94producing thrust by reaction. This device furthermore addresses the issue of producing local thrust differential(s) on the body or housing thereof, for purposes of flight maneuvering and/or directional control, by providing for a plurality of such pulsed discharge propulsion units arranged in concentric rings (within the discoid body) and having individual divergent nozzles. As such, however, the device set forth in this Patent just cited actually constitutes an ionized jet propulsion method, requiring the use of either a gaseous medium like air or the onboard storage and release of relatively massive ionizable reaction material for any operational capability in space. Moreover, the pulsed mode of operation used, which limits the ionizing potential gradient to a value of less than breakdown field intensity, significantly restricts the level of power produced as thrust as compared to the continuous DC discharge field current produced by the present inventionxe2x80x94at voltages which may be greatly in excess of breakdown intensity. Finally, this said device relies upon an unspecified source of generated electrical power in operation which must be assumed would have to be nuclear if conventional in nature, for said device to avoid otherwise having to carry a massive and range-limiting onboard store of fuel, and not upon convenient and protracted-use permanent magnets of high energy density as the prime energy source (as the present invention does).
U.S. Pat. No. 3,464,207 discloses a quasi-corona aerodynamic vehicle which bears only a limited relationship to the present invention, but which is referenced nonetheless as being further indicative of the predominant trend in conceptualization in relation to devices intended for producing electrically-developed thrust. This device also relies upon pulsed corona discharge operation between spaced electrodes at less than breakdown field intensity, thereby greatly constraining the propulsive power obtained. It is furthermore effective only in a gaseous dielectric medium and is based upon an electric wind pressure gradient arising of an admitted incompletely-understood mechanism. This same device evidences a great deal of theoretical complexity and construction material specificity, which might seem to indicate a narrow range of feasibility. Such attributes are not uncommon in the field of electrical aerospace propulsion, and are, to a degree, shared even by the present invention. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that sizeable thrust in the form of an aerodynamic pressure gradient or lift of up to 30 lbs./ft2 of external electrode area or more is asserted to be obtainable from said same device by utilizing asymmetrical electrodes or electrode arrays, rather than using electrodes or electrode arrays of approximately equal area (as the present invention does)xe2x80x94which therefore present a uniform cross section of discharge current conduction.
PCT Application WO 85/03053 discloses a flying apparatus whose primary similarity to the present invention is that it incorporates a hollow annular flywheel which provides gyroscopic stability and encircles a relatively stationary central cabin and/or payload area. The device set forth therein also provides free-rolling means to center and stabilize the flywheel or rotor within a discoid housing, and addresses the issue that horizontal flight maneuvering and/or directional control may be accomplished by altering the local angular acceleration of the rotorxe2x80x94as does the present invention. This said other device, however, relies upon the questionable concept that the very large angular momentum of the rotating flywheel is somehow able to compensate the potential energy caused by gravitation and that the overall weight of the apparatus may thereby be annulled. Vertical lift must then be provided for said device in operation by atmospheric thermal updraft means, and no electrical discharge means are utilized to produce a force of lift or thrust.
The device set forth in UK Patent GB 2 312 709 A is a flying craft which is essentially disc- or saucer-shaped and which has a central axial post electrode and a spaced enclosing ring electrode whereby an electrical arc may be struck between the two, to either ignite fuel introduced via nozzles or greatly heat an exhausted air flow produced by fan means. Thus, this device actually provides hybrid jet or turbo-fan means for producing propulsive thrust, and utilizes direct electrical discharge not as the primary source of thrust but to enhance thrust produced by other means. To this end, said device must therefore operate solely in a gaseous atmosphere and/or carry onboard a range-limiting store of combustible fuel. This same device does, however, utilize powerful magnetic fields to impart a rotational and de-randomizing aspect to the arc discharge, thereby promoting a more uniform distribution of the arc discharge field""s energy, as does the present invention.
In summary, a number of similar or significant electrical, magnetic, and mechanical features of the several related art devices have been examined but, whatever the precise merits and advantages thereof, none of said devices achieve the correct combination of such features required to fulfill the purposes of the present invention. In this respect it may be stated that none of these related art devices attain the distinction of being able to operate extensively in the vacuum of space without the onboard storage of relatively massive reaction material for the production of thrust. Furthermore it would appear that none of these same devices utilize a charged conductive housing comprising suitably disposed electrodes and/or electrode arrays to create and control an asymmetrical electromotive field of force on itself without expelling a reaction mass, whether in a gaseous dielectric medium or the vacuum of space, to achieve a propulsive object as the present invention does. Finally, it is observed that none of the aforementioned related art devices can develop this type of useful thrust-producing electrodynamic field in a manner which allows more than one objective function to be fulfilled thereby, such as the production of useable thermal kinetic energy and/or the development of potential signal communications capability.
The present invention is a brushless permanent magnet electrical generator which produces a useful ultra-high-energy external electrodynamic field, or continuous quasi-coherent DC corona or arc discharge of uniform current density, that completely surrounds and encloses the machine""s symmetrically disc-shaped conductive housing and tends in consequence toward a balanced bihemitoroidal shape.
The invention incorporates a uniform arrangement of stationary electromagnetic armatures which may be employed as a group to impart a holistic and de-randomizing rotational force to the external discharge current that acts to inhibit the formation of concentrated arc streamer or channel phenomena, and thus to assist in rendering the electrodynamic field quasi-coherent in nature. The arrangement of electromagnetic armatures in said generator acting as a group simultaneously also contribute a portion of the machine""s required input rotary torque upon the current-carrying rotor assembly thereof.
This invention provides a permanent magnet high-voltage generator wherein the primary DC voltage induced within its rotating coils is electrostatically impressed across the conductive rotor assembly thereof, in a brushless manner utilizing vacuum tube cutoff bias techniques, such that a secondary DC corona or arc discharge current is thereby initiated about the housing thereof which is orders of magnitude larger than the operating current through the said coils.
The said high-voltage primary generator of the invention then has a housing or hull which is divided into separate negative (emitter), neutral, and positive (collector) electrical sections, such that the continuous external flow of such discharge current is best facilitated and conducted internally by the proximal rotor, and wherein suitable means to circulate one or more form(s) of liquid coolant through any one or more of said housing sections may be employed for purposes of extracting an extremely high level of recoverable thermal energy (arising from such discharge current)xe2x80x94which is intended principally for use in the large-scale production of electrical power and/or distilled or desalinated water.
This invention as an electrodynamic field generator also provides an appreciable and practical level of electrically-developed thrust, from the relativistic impulse of an induced ultra-high-voltage external DC arc discharge current incident upon its positive (collector) housing sections, which may be rendered variably non-isometric in nature and therefore directionally propulsive by means of selectively controlling: (i) the resistance of the brushless electrical linkages between the positive housing sections and the proximal current-carrying rotor; and/or (ii) the magnetic flux output of the various stationary electromagnetic armatures.
The invention as an ultra-high-energy field generator furthermore presents a unique yet practicable method of producing a variable electromagnetic and/or gravimetric signal, by means of which useful information may be both transmitted to and received by a separate similar device, in further harnessing the effects associated with the device""s external electromotive field. The relationship of said field effects to quantum potential vacuum fluctuation theory just now being studied, which may allow the devising of such a signal having an unconventional nature, is referred to again below.
In any event, the electrodynamic field generator described may be feasibly manufactured and marketed in various sizes according to need or desire in pursuit of its remarkable objects; may be operated either in a gaseous dielectric medium or in the vacuum of space; and may incorporate ancillary mechanical, electrical, and/or electronic features upon or within its housing to accomplish all the objects set forth hereinabove.
Briefly, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, first provided is a flat annular segmented rotor of very high conductive ampacity which is rendered capacitive in nature by the attachment of suitably paired electrode rings. Alternating in placement amidst such capacitive ring pairs are also attached on the rotor a series of toroidal generating coils of very large mean radius relative to the cross-sectional radius thereof. The resultant composite rotor assembly is then rotatably mounted within a sectional conductive housing. The potential energy inherent in the fields of ring-shaped stationary permanent magnets, which are affixed in concentric circular arrays within the housing, is utilized to electrically polarize the rotor across its radial annular width by means of the xe2x80x9cprimaryxe2x80x9d DC voltage created upon relative rotational motion between such coils and magnets. The thereby polarized rotor is electrically linked on one hand (about its positive inner circumference) to two axially-central collector housing sections, by electrostatic induction via a system of plane-parallel electrode elements, and on the other hand (about its negative outer circumference) to two radially-peripheral emitter housing sections across an evacuated space charge chamber. The rotor""s subsequent transportation and storage of electronic charge between the proximal opposite-polarity sections of the housing causes a much higher xe2x80x9csecondaryxe2x80x9d voltage to appear across interposed neutral sections thereof and results in a continuous ultra-high-energy DC discharge current flow about the housing externally and across the rotor internally.